Maryland MEP & RMI Celebrate the Successes of Maryland Manufacturing Throughout the Years at Decades of Dedication Gala

On Thursday, March 26, 2015, the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland (RMI) - the state’s leading advocate for manufacturing and manufacturing issues – held its Decades of Dedication Gala at Martin’s West in Windsor Mill, Maryland, commemorating its 25th anniversary. Over 600 manufacturing employees and stakeholders attended the evening gala celebration to recognize the longest serving employees in Maryland’s manufacturing industry, as well as local manufacturing companies’ ongoing contributions to the state. The Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MD MEP) served as a major partner for this special event.

The evening consisted of remarks from the Master of Ceremonies Mike Galiazzo, President of RMI; remarks from Governor Hogan recognizing the longest serving employees; a breathtaking electric guitar rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner by Paul Reed Smith; a powerful keynote by Northrop Grumman’s Corporate Vice President and President of Electronic Systems Sector Gloria Flach; and staged demonstrations by local high school students from the Baltimore Robotics Center showcasing their drones and robots providing a glimpse of Maryland’s future manufacturing innovators.

Additionally, MD MEP’s ‘Make it Maryland’ display, consisting of all Maryland manufactured goods and products, was set up at the event for viewing purposes and photographs. The ‘Make it Maryland’ display was last set up at last year’s inaugural ‘Make it in Maryland’ event which marked the launch of MD MEP, RMI and the Maryland World Class Consortia (MWCC)’s original ‘Make it in Maryland’ program - the first and only program dedicated to Maryland manufacturers and aimed at showcasing companies, demonstrating the value of manufacturing within the state and highlighting manufacturing successes, as well as providing companies with business-to-business purchasing, partnering and business opportunities in order to further the goal of keeping the industrial, economic and workforce benefits of these companies within the state.

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